Puff sleeve ironer



Aug. 22, 1939. .'E. HOLT 217,5?1

PUFF SLEEVE mommy Filed Aug. 9, 195a 4 :F' @lv I A TTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 22, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE 1 Claim.

A portable, hand-carried ironing instrument is needed, which may be usedto work upon puff sleeves, or any sleeve having fullness, or to workupon material of any kind, in which there is fullness, such as shirringor gathering in the front of dresses or blouses. An ironing instrumentof the sort alluded to should be capable of being manipulated readily,regardless of the amount of fullness. An instrument of the sort referredto should be strong and simple in construction, and capable of beingtaken down readily for repair. Means should be provided whereby the partof the ironing instrument which comes into contact with the fabric canbe heated evenly, and sufficiently, without being heated to an extentwhich will result in a scorching of the cloth which is being ironed.

The objects of the present invention are to construct a device whichwill have the characteristics above referred to, other advantages beingmade manifest as the description proceeds.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed, may be made within thescope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 shows in vertical section, a device constructed in accordancewith the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan of the cap;

Fig. 3 is a plan of the heating element;

Fig. 4 is a plan of the insulating disk;

In carrying out the invention, there is provided a base plate I, whichis flat, and of circular outline, the base plate preferably being madeof aluminum. A handle 2 is disposed at right angles to the base plate Iand may be made either of metal, such as aluminum, or of some othermaterial, if preferred. The handle 2 has an axial bore 3, and the handleis provided at its inner end with a disk-like head 4, there being anenlarged recess 5 in the head 4, at the inner end of the bore 3. Thebase plate I has a nipple 6 which is received in the recess 5. Securingelements I, such as screws, pass through the base plate I and enter thehead 4 of the handle 2, to hold the base plate and the handle together.In operation, considerable strain is thrown on the connection betweenthe base plate I and parts carried by it, on the one hand, and thehandle 2 on the other hand. In order to relieve the strain on the screwsI, the nipple 6, extending into the recess 5, is provided.

'A disk or sheet 8 of asbestos is mounted on the base plate I and actsas a heat-stop, preventing the handle 2 from becoming overheated. A diskor sheet 9 of insulating material, preferably mica, is superposed on thedisk 8. The disks 8 and 9 have registering openings Ill disposeddiametrically opposite to each other, and the disks 8 and 9 haveregistering central apertures I I, alined with a corresponding openingI2 in the base plate I and with the bore 3 of the handle 2.

On the insulating disk 9 is placed .a heating element I4 which iselectrically operated. The heating element I4 comprises a hollow body I5, made of insulating material, the body I5 being supplied withoutwardly prolonged extensions or ears I6 having openings H. The body I5of the heating element I4 is hollow and is in the shape of a portion ofa sphere. An electrical resistance I8 is seated in a spiral groove 38 inthe body I5 and is retained securely but detachably by fingers 48 on thebody, which overhang the groove. The resistance I8 is connected at itsends to binding posts I9, one of which is mounted upon the crown of thebody I5 of the heating element I I, the other of which is mounted on theside of the body, near the insulating disk 9. The binding posts I9project into the chamber 29 of the body I5.

Conductors 29 extend through the bore 3 of the handle 2, through thenipple 6, through the opening I2 of the base plate I, through theregistering apertures I I of the disks 9 and 8, and into the chamber 29,the conductors extending continuously to the binding posts I9, althoughnot so shown in Fig. 1 in order that more important structural detailsmay appear the more clearly.

There is provided an ironing cap 2I, made of metal, preferably aluminum.The cap 2! is hollow and in the form of a portion of a sphere. The

cap 2| has a marginal flange 22 within which is received the base plateI, and the disks 8 and 9. The flange 22 defines an annular shoulder 23within the cap 2|. From the shoulder 23, lugs 24 extend inwardly, andthe lugs are supplied with openings 25, registering with the openings I9of the disks 8 and 9, and with corresponding openings 26 located in thebase plate I and receiving securing elements 21, such as screws, whichpass through the openings I!) of the disks 8 and 9 and are threaded intothe openings 25 of the lugs 24 on the cap 2I, the parts being boundtightly together, in a way which can be seen in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

The operation of the device will be understood readily. When theresistance I8 is heated, the air in the space 28 between the body l andthe cap 2| is heated, and the cap itself is heated. No appreciableamount of heat will pass into the handle 2, to the discomfort of theoperator, owing to the provision of the heat-stop or asbestos disk 8.The cap 2!, and the body I5 of the heating element I4, have a commoncenter of curvature, and, consequently, the cap will be heated fairlyand evenly throughout its entire working area. The passage of heat tothe handle 2 is checked not only by the heat-stop or disk 8, but, aswell, because the chamber 29 is provided within the body l5.

The device, of course, is manipulated by grasping the handle 2. It isnot intended that the article shall be placed upon a standard, orsupported rigidly in any other manner. The general construction of thedevice is such that it will consummate the advantages and carry out theobjects set forth in the opening portion of this specification.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

A portable, hand-operated ironing instrument comprising a hollow ironingcap of practically equal thickness throughout, a base attached to thecap and serving as a closure therefor, a handle secured to the base,centrally thereof, a hollow body fixed with respect to the base and thecap and located Within the cap, and heating means carried by the body,there being an air space of substantially uniform extent between thebody and the cap, the body having a cavity closed by the base andlocated inwardly of the handle and of sufficient size to minimize theheating of the handle, the handle being short and shaped for gripping inthe human hand, the

outer, working surface of the cap being in the form of a hemisphere ofwhich the axis of the handle forms a pole, the location of the handlepermitting the hemispherical working surface of the cap to be rockedlaterally in any direction, under even pressure, upon the Work to beironed.

LUCILE E. HOLT.

